Think of the Platonic ideal of a Hall of Fame baseball player, and what comes to mind?
For some, the model of a baseball legend is personified by Derek Jeter, or Cal Ripken Jr., or Johnny Bench, or Mickey Mantle. These are fabled ballplayers, at least in part because they spent the entirety of their career with one team.
Indeed, on the margins of some Hall of Fame candidacy discussions, the idea that a player wore only one uniform somehow strengthens his case for Cooperstown. Perhaps this is because in an era when all athletes are commodified, and any player can be traded or leave in free agency, the franchise legend is increasingly a bit of nostalgia bait for a sport that craves those feelings.
Realistically, even the greatest players now will play for several teams over the course of their career. And some of the most exceptional of all time will find themselves as legendary journeymen towards the end.
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Watch Max Scherzer return on Sportsnet
Max Scherzer makes his long-awaited return to the mound as the Blue Jays take on the Guardians. Watch live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ at 6:40 p.m. ET / 3:40 p.m. PT.
With Max Scherzer about to scale the mound again in a Blue Jays uniform, fans of this franchise will get the opportunity to appreciate their brief moment with one of the best to ever toe the rubber. After a three-inning outing in March that felt like something of a mirage — did that really happen? — getting the chance to appreciate this sort of mythological figure in baseball history up close can be a gift.
For whatever notion some might have that it is nobler and more dignified for baseball greats to bow out before their tank runs dry, there is something special for fans about these opportunities to appreciate the best who have ever played the game.
Years from now, when Jays fans see “TORONTO, A.L., 2025” written beneath Scherzer’s name on his Hall of Fame plaque, it will bring them back to that time when he (hopefully) contributed to a meaningful summer — just as fans of the Dodgers, Rangers and Mets will appreciate the brief time that he spent with them.
It’s possible there was some other fourth starter on the market in the winter who could have contributed more to the Blue Jays as measured by WAR, but would we really remember them nearly as well? You may well have to look it up to confirm if Steven Matz was ever a Blue Jay, but fans of a certain vintage will never forget that Hall of Famer Phil Niekro once pitched three games for the Jays down the stretch in 1987. It’s right there on his plaque, if you need proof.
Indeed, sometimes those late-career appearances can feel like nothing more than a drive-by. This year’s Hall of Fame inductee, Dave Parker, is mostly remembered as a Pittsburgh Pirate and maybe a Cincinnati Red. But towards the end of his career, he made meaningful contributions to the Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers before ending his playing days with 13 games as the Blue Jays’ DH, helping to get them over the hump and back into the playoffs.
There’s a legendary picture of the Jays doffing their caps to the crowd on the last day of the 1991 season in recognition that the attendance figures broke 4 million for the first time at SkyDome. Front and centre in that picture is Dave Parker, with his No. 39 in the classic split-font numerals on the back of his jersey.
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At other times, those contributions can be more meaningful. Dave Winfield spent only one season as a Blue Jay, as part of a late-career journey that also included stops in California, Minnesota and Cleveland. But that one season left such an indelible mark on the franchise’s history that Blue Jays fans know deep in their soul the meaning of the words “Winfield wants noise.” And they remember that double just inside the third base bag in the 1992 World Series that certainly ranks within the most consequential hits in the team’s history.
Hearing Winfield go out of his way in his Hall of Fame speech to single out his time and the fans in Toronto is the sort of thing that keeps baseball fans’ spirits afloat when the seasons are long, and the results aren’t always there.
Baseball can have an inclination towards snobbery, but we should celebrate those moments of remembering Ichiro Suzuki in a Marlins jersey, or Ken Griffey Jr. as a White Sox, or Greg Maddux with the Padres, or Fred McGriff with the Dodgers, or Lee Smith with the Expos. Or even Justin Verlander with the Giants this year. Those moments help to keep baseball interesting.
We shall soon see what sort of contribution Max Scherzer makes to the Blue Jays this season, and just how historically consequential this time in his career is for him, and for the fans. But baseball fandom is best when you can situate yourself within something memorable amongst so many fleeting moments.
